This invention relates generally to an appliance exhaust system, and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for an appliance exhaust duct cover.
At least some known ovens include an oven cavity, at least one heating element in the oven cavity, and a plurality of electric heating elements and/or gas burners on an upper surface of the oven. The heating elements and/or gas burners facilitate cooking food positioned on the heating elements and/or gas burners. During the cooking process, undesirable gases and/or fumes may be generated by the heating elements and/or gas burners in the cooking area and subsequently released into the surrounding environment.
To facilitate reducing the release of such gases and/or fumes into the environment, at least some known ovens include a separate venting system, e.g. a range hood, positioned above the oven. Known range hoods include an electric fan/blower that channels the gases and/or fumes generated during the cooking process through a vent duct, wherein the gases and/or fumes are either filtered and re-circulated back into the kitchen, i.e. ductless venting, or released directly to the outside atmosphere, i.e. ducted venting. Typically, the appliance owner selects whether the range hood should be configured to re-circulate the gases and/or fumes, or discharge the gases and/or fumes directly to the environment, and the vent duct is then permanently installed for the desired configuration. More specifically, if the owner selects a re-circulated configuration a vent duct that includes a plurality of openings within the kitchen is installed. Alternatively, if the owner selects to discharge the gases and/or fumes directly to the environment, i.e. a non-re-circulated configuration, a vent duct that does not include a plurality of openings is installed.
Since the gases and/or fumes may contain moisture, at least one known vent duct is fabricated from a galvanized metallic material. To increase the aesthetics of an exposed vent duct within a kitchen, for example, a one-piece vent duct cover may be positioned over an exterior surface of the galvanized metallic vent duct. However, different venting configurations require the use of different duct covers. For example, a one-piece vent duct cover used with a re-circulated vent duct may not be utilized as a vent duct cover with a non-recirculated configuration. Fabricating multiple vent duct covers not only increases design and fabrication costs, but also increases the quantity of parts that must be maintained by the appliance vendors and the likelihood of an incorrect vent duct cover being installed.